Wellington

Here are many shots of downtown Wellington and Wellington harbor from a mountain behind Kelburn, where we live. The mountain is about a 30 min hike from streets at its base, and provides a spectacular view of the bay, the ocean, the city, the surrounding hills, and even the mountains at the north end of the south island. We have done this hike a couple times, as it only takes a short time after class ends any day we choose! As you may notice, Wellington is a lot like San Franciso. What you cannot see is the degree of steepness of streets in the city, but you can imagine it from the houses set upon hill faces and the unevenness of the whole area. The buildings are laid out with staircases running in every direction and streets turning and curving every-which-way in a pattern that seems quite orderless but very interesting compared to suburbia. The night live in downtown is very rich, with pubs, clubs, and cafes dotting the streets. There is a beautiful botanical garden just west of campus -which is right outside of downtown- and as said before, numerous fun hikes in walking distance. The weather stays around 50 degrees, and sun and rain interchange with one another very quickly, with a lot of wind in between.